Climate Crisis Wildfires Caused 15,000 Smoke Inhalation Deaths in 15-Year Span
A new study examining the effects of smoke inhalation from wildfires in the United States has determined that wildfires caused or exacerbated by the climate crisis have led to thousands of deaths.
The study, which specifically examined fatalities between the years 2006 to 2020, also suggested that mortality rates will only increase unless drastic measures are taken to lessen the effects of climate change in the years ahead.
The paper, written by multiple experts across numerous universities and organizations and published in Nature on May 2, examined deaths related to the inhalation of particulate matter — tiny particles inside wildfire smoke that can lead to short- and long-term health issues. Within that time frame, “climate change contributed to approximately 15,000 wildfire particulate matter deaths,” the study found.
The highest rate of deaths occurred in Oregon and California, two states that have witnessed an increase in wildfires over the past two decades. The two states are also projected to have a worse year than usual this coming wildfire season.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter, including from wildfires, can cause heart and kidney diseases and worsen the onset of dementia symptoms, amongst other health complications.
The paper is consistent with past studies examining fine particulate deaths related to wildfires — one such study in 2024 suggested that 16,000 deaths occur every year in the U.S. due to wildfire smoke inhalation, though that study didn’t specify which fatalities happened specifically due to the climate crisis.
Beyond the human death toll, the paper asserted that the “cumulative economic burden” of wildfires as a result of the climate crisis amounted to around $160 billion.
“Absent abrupt changes in climate trajectories, land management, and population, the indirect impacts of climate change on human-health through wildfire smoke will escalate,” the study stated.
One of the co-authors of the study told NBC News that they were hopeful that the alarming figures would raise awareness about the effects of wildfires — and the need to address the climate crisis head-on.
“Part of the study is raising awareness. And then once we kind of understand that … now what are the interventions that we can deploy at a personal level, at a community level, and then obviously at a larger level across the country and across the world?” sad Nicholas Nassikas, a co-author of the study and a Harvard Medical School physician and professor.
Other experts unaffiliated with the study said the study should serve to alert people that wildfires are dangerous beyond their immediate vicinities.
“I think there’s a tendency for people outside of the areas actually burning to see increasing fires as a distant inconvenience … This study drives home how far-reaching the impacts are,” said Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and environment at Syracuse University.
Several research studies have determined that wildfires worldwide are becoming more frequent — and more dangerous — due directly to the climate crisis, which is worsening because of continued reliance on fossil fuels. Increased global temperatures are reducing moisture levels in certain areas of the globe, leading to drier conditions and extended fire seasons.
“Prolonged heatwaves can take what was once a natural event in the fire-cycle process and supercharge it into a maelstrom that devastates entire communities. And, crucially, worsening wildfires mean larger amounts of stored carbon are released into the atmosphere, further worsening climate change,” an article on The Nature Conservancy’s website states.